Denver Broncos: Drew Lock must take it one day at a time

Now that the Denver Broncos have activated Drew Lock it is important for the rookie quarterback to take one day at a time.

The Denver Broncos selected quarterback Drew Lock out of the University of Missouri in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. There’s a misconception going around some in Broncos Country that the team does not value Lock as the future starter, and that to me is not true.

Lock steadily moved up the depth chart to number two over the course of the preseason and training camp. The expectation was Denver was going to roll with Kevin Hogan as the backup to Joe Flacco, but his play continued to open the door for Lock to become the backup.

More importantly during the NFL Draft, Denver tried to move back into the first round to snag Lock because of the fifth-year option. The key thing to remember is the draft fell the way it did and after the pick of Dalton Risner, Denver needed to pounce.

Due to Denver attempting the potential trade up to the first round for Lock, this means the Broncos potentially view him as a long-term answer. The point above all else falls on the quarterback from Missouri to take it one day at a time.

It first starts with his mental makeup. From the very beginning Lock has shown tremendous strides in his mentality to win over his teammates. It starts and ends with winning over a locker room. In my opinion, Lock is the first quarterback since Peyton Manning to have the right to a chip on his shoulder due to not being a first-round pick.

"“I think I’m just going to take it day by day here. I’m going to try to be the best teammate possible because I know if there’s one thing to help win over a team and win over a locker room, it’s come in and just be a good teammate. Be around the guys and show them who I really am. If I do that, then I think I’ll gain the respect and the trust of everybody in that locker room. Right now, that’s my number one goal.”Drew Lock (via Denver Broncos PR)"

This helps him take it one day at a time. Now the talent must show.

Coming into the draft process and draft day, many felt Lock was a first-round quarterback. Lock can make every throw in the book of today’s NFL. He’s capable of throwing from different arm angles which is also more prominent now.

There are questions about whether he can maintain an upright base in the pocket. He must continue to get better there. However, due to him throwing from different arm positions, that can require a unique base. Such is the current of NFL with quarterbacks like Matt Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, and last year’s MVP Patrick Mahomes for example.

The other is he has sneaky mobility in this offense to do well off play-action. In fact, this was one area Lock impressed me in before getting injured.

Lock has further to go for sure, but the talent is there. But it all starts now with showing out on the practice field and taking it one day at a time. One way to achieve this is soaking as much from his virtual reality sessions when he sustained the thumb injury before the season started.

Of course, heeding the advice from coaches like TC McCartney and Rich Scangarello. If it all comes together for Lock, he will be a tremendous talent at quarterback. But it still starts and ends with him taking it one day at a time.